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Ferguson Braces for Grand Jury Decision; Earthquakes in Nevada, Fire Ball in Texas; Former Navy SEAL Talks about Death of bin Laden

Aired November 10, 2014 - 08:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Money Monday.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Stock futures are higher, you guys, this morning, and that could mean a record. We had a record high Friday after a solid jobs report. This is three weeks in a row now the stock market has been gaining ground.

You can now window shop for Obamacare. Enrollment doesn't start until November 15th, but consumers can compare insurance plans right now at healthcare.gov. This early look just one of the many exchanges to the federal exchange that came under, of course, heavy criticism last year. The government says it's going to be easier this time around.

And this new report. There is a lack of diversity in Silicon Valley. And that divide goes all the way to the very top. A new survey of 20 tech companies found out of 189 corporate board members, four are minorities. Eleven companies have no minority members at all, including Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo!, and Google. That new survey coming out from the Reverend Jesse Jackson and his Rainbow Push.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: What can you do to change that?

ROMANS: You know, you've got to -- I've asked CEOs of these companies. They are all very perplexed by it and they want to fix it, but the talent they need right now happens to be predominantly white and predominantly male.

CUOMO: Boys club? You know, this is just a --

ROMANS: Well, they call it bro-grammar (ph) culture. You know, there's a kind of guy who really excels at this very fast moving part of the economy. I mean the companies are doing - I Google, for example, is partnering with the Girl Scouts to try to do coding and even coding badges for young girls to get them in this part of the economy. Maybe the pipeline is going to take a while to tap. But at least for now, four out of 189 board members. That's (INAUDIBLE).

CUOMO: The numbers tell the story.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: (INAUDIBLE).

CUOMO: Race, part of the story there to be sure.

CAMEROTA: Yes. CUOMO: Race certainly a part of the story in what's going on in Ferguson, Missouri. The city, right now, is on a razor's edge. That is not in dispute. The question is, what will happen next? The grand jury there is hearing evidence and getting ready to decide, we're told, whether or not to indict the officer who killed unarmed teen Michael Brown. What will happen if there is an indictment? What will happen if there is not? We're going to talk to the Brown family lawyer.

CAMEROTA: And, light streaks in the sky. A series of earthquakes in Nevada. What's causing all this? Is this more of the same or is something happening extraterrestrialy and terrestrially? We'll have a look.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: What will happen this week in Ferguson, Missouri? A grand jury is deciding whether to indict Darren Wilson, that's the police officer who killed Michael Brown. What happens if the officer is not charged for the crime? We will speak with a lawyer for Michael Brown's family in a moment. But first to CNN's Sara Sidner live for us in Ferguson.

Good morning, Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn.

You know, the grand jury decision is expected to come down at the earliest this weekend potentially. And a lot of people here are expressing concern about what that might mean for this town that has seen protests every single day for 90 days now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER (voice-over): Ferguson is on edge. Some business owners are busy fortifying their shops.

CONSTANCE GARNETT, BUSINESS OWNER: It's hurtful. It is really, really hurtful.

SIDNER: Salon owner Constance Garnett says she can't afford to take a chance that unrest will crash head-on into the business she built here for the past 11 years.

GARNETT: If they should come and loot our area, then it's going to cost us.

SIDNER: Protests haven't stopped for three months on her street. So we asked one of the police's most confrontational protestors about those concerns.

BASAM MASN (ph), ST. LOUIS RESIDENT: Now as far as what's happened with the last 90 days, people will know that if you have been paying attention, there hasn't been any looting, no violence, whatnot. We've been keeping it completely peaceful.

SIDNER: Nevertheless, plenty of folks worry that may change if the grand jury announcement goes against what protestors want, the indictment of Officer Darren Wilson for the killing of unarmed teenager Michael Brown. At a gun shop near Ferguson, the manager says sales of firearms for personal protection are up about 50 percent.

JOHN STEPHENSON (ph), BUSINESS OWNER: Every time that door opens, we're seeing new faces every day, dozens of new faces, coming in.

SIDNER (on camera): Do you think that's because of what's happened in Ferguson?

STEPHENSON: I think it is. I think - I think people in general, because it's spread beyond Ferguson now.

SIDNER (voice-over): The mayor of Ferguson says he's heard all about it too.

MAYOR JAMES KNOWLES, FERGUSON, MISSOURI: The plus side of that is that, you know, every one of that that I've spoke to have went out and taken a training class, have went out and tried to learn the law.

SIDNER: But not everyone is convinced there's going to be chaos. At the Ferguson Burger Bar and More, which opened just a day before Brown was killed, no boards, unlike most of his neighbors.

CHARLES DAVID, BUSINESS OWNER: I'm here. I'm open. I'm not going anywhere.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER: And we should mention that the family of Michael Brown has sent very clear messages to protestors that violence is not the answer. And they have asked repeatedly for the protests to be peaceful. The protestors themselves have been policing themselves and telling people who want to be violent that they are not with them.

Chris.

CUOMO: And as you know, because you've been there so long, Sarah, a lot of the people who were in there causing trouble aren't from the community. So how to keep control is a big issue.

Let's continue the conversation with Anthony Gray. He's co-counsel for Michael Brown's family.

Counselor, thank you for joining us this morning.

ANTHONY GRAY, CO-COUNSEL FOR MICHAEL BROWN FAMILY: Thank you, Chris. Good morning to you.

CUOMO: A pleasure to have you on NEW DAY, as always.

Let's look, first of all, at the cultural community aspect of this. How concerned are you about what happens when word of an indictment comes down?

GRAY: Very concerned. We just don't know what type of reaction that is waiting as a result of the announcement, whether for or against. The uncertainly that looms around this whole situation has got most people on pins and needles that are deeply involved and that are deeply connected to this case. And that includes myself, as well as the family. We hope, as you segue into your segment with me, that things remain peaceful, that there is no violence and we advocate for people to maintain that level of reaction at this point.

CUOMO: Yes, working those streets the last time around, there's a lot of outside agitators. This is - this place has become a metaphor for people's upset about different issues. So it's going to be hard to keep control there. I'm assuming that the concern is that if there is not an indictment, that there will be a negative reaction, right? You're not anticipating a bad one if there is an indictment?

GRAY: You know what, there is such a thing as over celebration that should also be of a minor concern. But you're right, the major concern is the negative reaction from the announcement of a non-indictment. And to that, Chris, I cannot speak to the predictability of people. You just don't know how they're going to respond, especially after weeks and months of just suppressing their emotions thus far.

CUOMO: Right. Now let's just try and use the rest of the time that we have here just to kind of play out what the main factors are that are going on with this grand jury as so many people are trying to figure out what's right and wrong here. From the prosecutor's perspective, they have to feel that they could win this case. And in presenting the evidence to the grand jury, if they leave those grand jurors with the feeling that, you know what, there's some questions here, they could go either way, I think there's as much to support the officer's story as the other one, they may not indict. Would that be the wrong outcome, in your opinion?

GRAY: Well, no, because I think what should ultimately happen, especially in a case like this, if there's even a 50/50 chance, which is what probable cause really means in terms of the standard, then I think a jury should have an opportunity to take that chance and I think the prosecutor should pursue that chance given the gravity of this case, the magnitude of its consequences throughout the community and the world and let's see how a jury will actually find in this case. I don't think we should use a predictor to decide whether or not they should go forward at trial. The fact that it is 50/50 to me indicates that we should move forward.

CUOMO: Right or wrong, indictments against cops are harder to get, you know, and they're less usual. If this were, you know, two individuals, you would see, well, this case - this goes to indictment very often. It's different with cops, right or wrong. Do you think people are keeping that in consideration here?

GRAY: No doubt about it. No doubt about it, police officers are given a greater benefit of the doubt than any joe blow citizen. That's a part of the matrix when you start considering cases like this. The fact that this does involve a police officer adds an additional element to your consideration. No doubt about it, benefit goes to officer. And so we just proceed with that and then let the chips fall where they may at the end of the day. CUOMO: For all of the different facts and different angles that come

into consideration here, do you think that the juror's minds on what distance Michael Brown and the officer were at when the shots were fired, the fatal shots especially, will come down to what their decision is?

GRAY: And you hit it right on the head, Chris. That's what all of this case is about, the fatal shots. Nothing before, whether minutes or days or weeks, matter in this particular case. It will come down to that. How much distance was it? What kind of threat was it? The fact remains that Mike Brown was unarmed at that particular time. And so, yes, I think the whole case centers around the fatal bullets to Mike Brown Jr.'s head, distance, threat, and everything else should go into consideration at that point.

CUOMO: All right, counselor, thank you very much. Please, send our condolences to the family. And we know that they don't want their son's legacy to be tarnished by more violence coming out of this.

GRAY: True.

CUOMO: But as we've been saying, they really can't control that either. We'll have to wait and see what happens here.

GRAY: Yes. Thank you so much, Chris. Thank you. Appreciate it. Have a great day.

CUOMO: All right, you take care, sir.

Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: All right, Chris.

Fire balls in the sky over the south, hundreds of small earthquakes rattling northwest Nevada. The seismic drum roll has people asking whether a bigger quake is on the way. So what's going on with all these events? We'll discuss right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: Welcome back. Quite a weekend, both deep underground and up in the sky. A series of earthquakes rattling parts of northwest Nevada. It's actually been going on since July, but there certainly has been an uptick in intensity, leaving many wondering if a bigger tremor is on the way.

And then over the weekend in Texas, up in the sky, reports of a fire ball shooting across the sky, a possible meteor perhaps. So, we're going to ask the question what is going on here? We're going to ask Hakeem Oluseyi, who is the host of "Outrageous Acts of Science" on the Science Channel. Oh, I'm so excited to have a good, geeky discussion with you Hakeem . How are you?

HAKEEM OLUSEYI, HOST, "OUTRAGEOUS ACTS OF SCIENCE": I'm very well. Good morning, Michaela. How are you? PEREIRA: Good morning to you. Is it too much to link these things

together? You're a host of a show called "Outrageous Acts of Science." Is this just science and mother nature flexing her muscle a little bit?

OLUSEYI: Well, you know, I'm also a co-host of "How the Universe Works," right?. And what we're seeing right now is exactly that, on display how the universe is working. What normally happens is stuff falls to earth from the sky. It happens everyday. And the other thing that's happening is that the earth itself is dynamic, right? The earth is cooling, the crust is moving and dynamic, and what's really interesting about these earthquakes is that, you know, some may suggest that there's a human element involved in triggering them.

PEREIRA: Yes, there's this conversation about fracking. I'll get to that in a second.

OLUSEYI: Yes.

PEREIRA: But one of the things that is noticeable about what we're seeing, the swarm, if you will, in Nevada, it wasn't just one or two. There were hundreds, and I think people worry, rightly. Do they need to be concerned about a big one coming?

OLUSEYI: Well, you know, swarms of earthquakes can indicate that something is going to happen, or it can be nothing. So, when we look at naturally occurring earthquakes, only about 1 percent of swarms will have a big earthquake to follow.

PEREIRA: Oh.

OLUSEYI: Now, other nationally occurring phenomena, for example, volcanic eruptions are often preceded by swarms of earthquakes. So, in this case, we can't say for certain because there is no certain way of predicting whether or not it is an indicator of a big one, but, you know, we can be a little bit assured by knowing that only 1 percent of swarms indicate that a big one is coming.

PEREIRA: So, what about this notion of humans playing a role in all of this shaking of our earth? What about that notion? There's a lot in the news and in sot of public consciousness about, you know, water lines, and fracking and these other elements.

OLUSEYI: Yes, yes.

PEREIRA: What do you make of it all?

OLUSEYI: Well, you know, here's an interesting tidbit. If you look at the research on earthquake swarms, long before fracking existed, there was a connection with the motion of fluids within the earth, alright? And so now with fracking, it's not the actual fracking process itself, but apparently studies are indicating that it's the disposal water thousands of feet below the ground that somehow changes conditions there, right?

You can increase pressure at the fault lines. You can have movement of water along fault lines. You can lubricate fault lines. And that can cause what may be an extinct fault line to suddenly change its position, which of course results in an earthquake. So, the evidence is starting to build up.

PEREIRA: Yes.

OLUSEYI: But there's a key piece of missing information, and that is is that in order to be conclusive, you need to know the state of the fault prior to the earthquake swarm.

PEREIRA: Ah, yes, of course. Makes sense. Alright, let's leave the earth and go up into the sky.

OLUSEYI: Yes.

PEREIRA: Because folks in Texas treated with a bit of a light show. Reports of a green light streaking through the night sky. Talk to us about what's going on there.

OLUSEYI: Well, you know, as a nerd, we are loving this era of cameras everywhere. Because --

PEREIRA: Just a matter of time, right, until somebody is going to get it.

OLUSEYI: Yes, yes, you know things are falling to earth every day. Something like two tons of matter fall to earth, and, of course, most things are small, but some are bigger and they make these spectacular shows. And no as long as nobody gets hurt and property is not damaged, we can totally geek out and enjoy it, right?

PEREIRA: So, this was a geeky example, because, again, you said, like, this stuff we've seen. We saw in Russia I think famously.

OLUSEYI: Oh, yes.

PEREIRA: Couple of years ago that crazy meteor that fell to earth, shaking - - You know, people were injured from glass most shattering, et cetera. That's a rarity, correct, when it connects? I just want to calm myself maybe down.

OLUSEYI: Oh, it's completely a rarity to have a big event, but there does appear, some studies show, to be a periodicity involved, right? You could say an event of a particular size happens at some regular rate, right? So, a city destroyer happens once per century essentially. And so, the Chelyabinsk meteor that fell in Russia could have been that event for us, right? So, we might be in the clear now statistically speaking.

PEREIRA: Will you come and talk with me again, we can geek out together? I like this, this is a good stuff.

OLUSEYI: Hey, I love it. There's a big universe out there, and it's outrageous, and, you know, humans are pretty interesting too. So - -

PEREIRA: And we're not bad, right? We're not bad as long as we don't keep messing things up. Hakeem, we'll talk again. Thanks so much for joining us.

OLUSEYI: Take care.

PEREIRA: Very cool stuff. Chris?

CUOMO: It was, and I actually understood most it.

(LAUGHTER)

CUOMO: Which is very unusual.

CAMEROTA: Sort of, you were asking a lot of questions during that

CUOMO: That's true, that's true. They had nothing to do with the segment, but I was asking questions.

CAMEROTA: He was.

CUOMO: She was right about that. So, we're going to take on something in a group setting. This is a big dialogue, you're going to hear about it today. The soldier, the SEAL who came out and said, I'll tell you what happened with Osama bin Laden. Some are saying he should shut up, some are saying good for him. What do you think? This is a big debate about this man who says he's the one who killed Osama bin Laden, and he wants you to know it.

CAMEROTA: Yes, find us on Twitter. We'd love to hear your comments about that. We'll be right back.

CUOMO: And then we'll take it on and you judge for yourselves.

CAMEROTA: Good.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: All right. Here's what we know. Navy SEALs put their lives on the line in some of the most dangerous and often secret missions around the world. The key word, of course, is secret. So, what happens when they come back?

CAMEROTA: All right. So, there's one former Navy SEAL, his name is Robert O'Neill, he is speaking out and he says that he is the one who killed Osama bin Laden. He says it is now his duty to tell the 9/11 families about it.

ROBERT O'NEILL, FORMER NAVY SEAL: Any time anyone says, you know, my brother died at the Cantor Fitzgerald, or my mom what, what, whatever, one think I tell them is, all right, Osama bin Laden died like a (EXPLETIVE DELETED). That's all I'm telling you. Just so you know, he died afraid. And he knew that we were there to kill him.

CAMEROTA: He says, he died afraid and he knew we were there to kill him. Is that valuable for him to the speaking out with that message?

PEREIRA: I feel like the two of you both have really strong opinions on this. CUOMO: Well, there are two very different ways of looking at it. How

do you see it?

CAMEROTA: Well, I see it that there is a value in hearing about our brave heroes, and hearing from them. It's part of our national fabric. We should all be so proud of them, we should talk about it. We talk so much about ISIS, wouldn't it be helpful to talk about what our brave Navy SEALs do? I know that they avoid the limelight, and I admire them and worship them for that. But just in terms of our national conversation, I want to be able to tell my children about what our Navy SEALs do.

PEREIRA: So, for you it's almost as though it's like closure in a way. It's the full circle of it.

CAMEROTA: What he says, I think, does offer closure to some of the victims' families. I think it is good to hear that Osama bin Laden died afraid, but mostly it's that I want to celebrate these people.

PEREIRA: And you, I feel like you're not on the same page with that.

CUOMO: Does he have the right to do it? Yes. Is it right to do it? Probably not.

PEREIRA: That's a different question.

CUOMO: Probably not, and here's why. First of all, the information that you say is important is important, and we hear it from the chain of command. Whether or not this is classified or not, that gets to his right to do it. But, we honor them, we celebrate them, we lionize them. We maybe even exaggerate their significance because they're different, they're better.

What he did here is not better and, as we heard from many members of the military, it's that he is tarnishing his reputation with the people who should matter most to him and what should matter most to him.

CAMEROTA: His colleagues.

CUOMO: His colleagues. They have a code - -

PEREIRA: Code of honor you're talking about.

CUOMO: They have a code about what they do and how they do it.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

CUOMO: It's what makes them better.

CAMEROTA: I respect that, but I don't think we lionize them enough. I don't think, for instance, my children know about the SEALs.

PEREIRA: Can we lionize them without knowing the details? Because, again, there's that question about are they compromising national security, are they compromising, the mission, are they compromising the code?

CUOMO: Just getting involved in something where they don't need to be. The propagandizing of what they do.

CAMEROTA: I do worship them for that.

PEREIRA: At the end of the day, he is gone, and that is going to give, let a lot of people sleep at night.

CAMEROTA: Osama bin Laden.

PEREIRA: Osama bin Laden is gone.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

PEREIRA: A lot of people can sleep at night.

CAMEROTA: I find it satisfying to hear about his last seconds, I have to say.

CUOMO: I do, too, but I think that - - You know, actually I don't know that I do. I don't like the idea of anybody having to lose their life, but that gets into a different conversation.

CAMEROTA: It does.

CUOMO: We love the SEALs for a the right reasons, we just want to see them handle their business the right way.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

CUOMO: A lot of news, so let's get you to the "NEWSROOM" Randi Kaye in for Carol Costello.

PEREIRA: Oh, Randi Kaye. How are you doing, Randi?

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: I'm doing well, nice to see all of you this morning. Have a great day.

PEREIRA: You, too.

KAYE: NEWSROOM starts right now.